LockStar: Integrating Legacy with eBusiness

LockStar is dedicated to developing products and technologies that fully leverage both the power of the web and the power of established business processes to reduce the complexity, cost and time to market of eBusiness initiatives. LockStar streamlines the interface component between web applications and existing corporate business processes and systems with a new generation design for data access, data translation and data security. eBusiness applications can now take advantage of the fully dynamic web environment while leveraging the business logic, capacity and security of existing business processes and systems without compromising rapid deployment. For more information on LockStar’s software, please visit our web page: LockStar.

Jim Keohane, Software Performance Specialist, lists the following reasons why LockStar chose the SAS/C and C++ Development Products for OS/390 application development:

• The LockStar development group manages C and C++ code, most of which is common to OS/390, UNIX and NT. The OS/390 build uses the SAS/C/C++ Cross-Platform Compiler and ships object file to OS/390 for linking only. Faster build time and less impact on the mainframe. Nice! Being able to ship SAS/C runtime components without licensing issues or costs is a big plus for management. Not having to be concerned with Language Environment maintenance and compatibility issues has greatly pleased both development and support staff.

• The SAS Remote Debugger, through multiple TSO sessions, allows development and support to monitor individual tasks within a multitasking, multi-user OS/390 address space. Additionally, SAS/C compiler optimization options have proven to be quite effective. In conjunction with Compuware’s Strobe performance monitor, which is SAS/C-aware, further performance improvements have been made. When developers have to invoke low level OS/390 operating system services it is often the case that SAS/C already provides the appropriate C-callable interface. There has been significantly less need than expected to drop into assembler.

• Development is planning to use the new SAS/C/C++ version 7.0 very soon as preliminary testing showed very efficient “long long” support and other performance gains.

• Last, but not least, SAS/C/C++ technical support has been absolutely superb! Extremely competent and accommodating